As most owners of outdoor swimming pools know, keeping the pool free of debris, such as leaves and the like can be an onerous job. If such floating debris is not removed from the pool, it often sinks and must be vacuumed from the pool before it has a chance to clog the filter system of the pool. Vacuuming a swimming pool is a difficult and burdensome task which most pool owners would rather be kept to a minimum.
For this reason, the art has included several proposals for skimmer devices that float on top of the water in a swimming pool and remove floating debris. While somewhat successful, these skimmer devices have several drawbacks. For example, some of these devices must be plugged into a source of electrical power. Not only can this be dangerous, it may also limit the area of the pool that can be covered by the skimmer. An electrical cord can also have a tendency to tangle thereby further limiting the area covered by the skimmer. Additionally, floating skimmers can be disrupted by swimmers, and are often removed to interfere with activity in the pool.